Henin-Hardenne suffers historic upset

Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England - French Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne ran out of comebacks Tuesday and lost in the first round at Wimbledon.

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The Belgian became the first Roland Garros women's champion since 1962 to lose her opening match at Wimbledon when she was beaten by Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, 7-6 (8), 2-6, 7-5.

Seeded seventh, Henin-Hardenne won the second set to pull even, erased a 4-2 deficit in the final set to reach 4-all, then overcame two match points in the 10th game for 5-all. But in the final game she double-faulted twice, including on the last point when her weary serve clipped the net cord.

Two-time champion Serena Williams, playing her first match since May 11, won the final five games to beat fellow American Angela Haynes 6-7 (12), 6-4, 6-2.

The men's French Open champion, 19-year-old Rafael Nadal, wore his clamdigger trousers on Centre Court and beat American Vince Spadea 6-4, 6-3, 6-0.

Henin-Hardenne took two weeks off between tournaments to rest a lingering hamstring injury and said she felt rusty as a result. The match was her first on grass in two years, and she acknowledged that nerves were a problem at times.

"Playing on clay and then coming here, it's so different," she said. "You change everything. It's not in a few days you get used to it."

Daniilidou, ranked 76th, came to Wimbledon with a 7-11 record this year but has enjoyed some of her best results on grass and played with poise down the stretch.

"Justine is a great player, but everyone is a little shaky at times during a match," Daniilidou said. "I think today I was a little bit better with that."

Maria Sharapova opened her bid for a second successive Wimbledon title by defeating Nuria Llagostera Vives 6-2, 6-2. Sharapova displayed her familiar grass-court flair and unveiled shoes trimmed with 18-karat gold.